Fremd finds a way again, drops Hoffman

Somehow, some way, when Fremd needs it, Fremd finds it.

The Vikings boys basketball team needed it Saturday night at Hoffman Estates. Trailing the upset-minded Hawks 24-19 at halftime and being outplayed, Fremd had to find a solution to its offensive woes and defensive lapses.

"Give Hoffman credit," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "We did not execute the way we wanted to in the first half, offensively or defensively."

But the Vikings answered an 8-0 Hawks run from the second quarter into the third with 7 straight, paced by power forward Chris Klimek (19 points) - and then held off the gritty Hawks for a 53-47 Mid-Suburban League West Division win to maintain their grasp on first place through the first half of the season.

Klimek was perfect from the field and line in scoring 9 third-quarter points. That opened it up for point guard Zach Monaghan (15 points) and shooting guard Quinn Williams (5 fourth-quarter points), as well as center Charlie Rosenberg (8 points) as Fremd built and protected the lead.

"We have a lot of seniors on this team," said Klimek. "We know what we want," in terms of goals, which helped them get settled and focused, especially on defense.

Hoffman, after using the inside strength of Colin Conway (10 points) and the all-around play of Joe Valadez, Lance Vesper and Kevin Tiongson to build the lead, shot just 1-for-10 from the floor in the third quarter. How did the Vikings (15-1, 5-0) shut them down?

"We stopped turning the ball over," said Widlowski, which made it easier to play defense when they subsequently didn't yield as many possessions to Hoffman (9-7, 1-4).

"We wanted to get it inside," said Klimek, and take advantage of their height advantage and depth. They did, shooting 6 of 9 in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 14-5, seizing a 33-29 lead and never letting Hoffman back closer than 4 again in the fourth after Matt Pahl (a trio of 3-pointers) and Brandon Fischer (9 points) kept the pressure on the Vikes.

"We got some good play from our bench," said Hoffman coach Bill Wandro. "In the second half, we just struggled to score. Fremd did a good job limiting us to just 1 shot (per possession). We started taking shots that were not really great shots."

So while Hoffman played three good quarters and one costly bad one, Fremd is still seeking the formula that will provide it with 32 solid minutes.

"We're looking for it," said Klimek, acknowledging of the team's 9 first-half turnovers, "That's not how we play."

"We're not putting it all together," said Hoffman's Wandro.

Or was that Fremd's Klimek?